🌟 Essential Purchases and Desired Purchases: How to Find a Healthy Financial Balance 🌟
💬 Money isn’t always lost through big purchases; often, it slips away because we don’t know how to prioritize. Do you really need that product or service, or do you simply want it? Learning to tell the difference is key to spending wisely.
🔍 Essential Purchases vs. Desired Purchases
✔️ Essential Purchases:
These are indispensable expenses that are necessary to live with dignity. If these are not covered, they can seriously affect your health, safety, or ability to function in society.
Key examples:
• Food and water: Life is impossible without them.
• Housing and shelter: They protect us and provide safety.
• Medical care: Essential to maintain and restore health.
• Basic transportation: Necessary to access work, education, and essential services.
• Basic education: Empowers people and allows active participation in society.
👉 Essential purchases are non-negotiable. They must come first.
✔️ Desired Purchases (Non-Essential):
These are things you would like to have because they bring comfort, pleasure, or social status, but they are not essential for your survival or basic well-being.
They are "extras" that can improve your quality of life, but their absence does not put your health or financial stability at risk.
Key examples:
• Branded or luxury clothing: We need clothing, but specific brands are a want.
• The latest phone model: A basic phone does the job; the newest version is a want.
• Expensive trips or luxury vacations: Rest is important, but luxury is optional.
• Multiple entertainment subscriptions: Leisure is healthy, but paying for unused services is wasteful.
• Frequent fine dining: Eating is essential, but expensive experiences are a want.
👉 Wants are valid, but they should never come before your essential needs.
⚖️ How to Find a Healthy Balance?
Life is not just about survival. Pleasure, comfort, and emotional well-being also matter.
The key is to ask yourself honestly:
✔️ If I buy this, will I leave any essential needs unmet?
✔️ Am I using money that should go toward my priorities?
✔️ Am I risking my financial stability for something I just want right now?
👉 The secret is not to place wants above needs.
When your basic needs are covered, you can enjoy some of your wants—as long as they don’t compromise your financial security or delay your goals.
✅ Why is it important to learn to prioritize?
👉 Because it helps you spend your money wisely.
👉 Because it keeps you from buying on impulse.
👉 Because it allows you to enjoy life without risking your financial well-being.
👉 Because it helps you move toward your goals without sabotaging yourself.
✨ How to Make More Mindful Spending Decisions?
🔹 Ask yourself: Am I covering my essential needs first?
🔹 Reflect: Am I using money that should go toward my priorities?
🔹 Avoid buying immediately: Give yourself a few days to think it over.
🔹 Make shopping lists and stick to them.
🔹 Leave room for some personal treats, but always within your budget.
👉 It’s not about always saying “no,” but about learning to say “not now” or “not a priority right now.”
🌱 Final Thoughts
Living with balance means organizing your priorities without eliminating the joy of life.
Well-managed money allows you to cover what’s essential, live peacefully, and still have space for those little pleasures that add flavor to life.
Every mindful purchase is an investment in your well-being and peace of mind.
With love,
Dr. Arturo José Sánchez Hernández, your friend in health promotion. 💙
📚 Did you enjoy this read?
Discover more wisdom and inspiration in our Illustrated Series of Sayings. 🌿✨
👉 https://www.smashwords.com/books/byseries/115447
Let these proverbs guide you toward a more meaningful and connected life. 🌱
🧠 Would you like to know the story behind this project?
Read the interview with Dr. Arturo José Sánchez Hernández here:
👉 https://mentalhealthmaun.blogspot.com/2025/04/interview-with-arturo-jose-sanchez.html
🌍 Looking for more articles on mental health and well-being?
🔹 Browse the blog index in Spanish here:
👉 https://saludmentalmaun.blogspot.com/2024/06/index.html
🔹 Or explore the blog index in English here:
👉 https://mentalhealthmaun.blogspot.com/2024/06/index.html
💬 And if you’d like to share your experiences and reflections on mental health in a safe, supportive space, I invite you to join our WhatsApp group Mental Health in the Heart of Maun:
👉 https://chat.whatsapp.com/Bq2zInoxO6ZJzhmamfLmy0
💙 Together, we build paths toward emotional well-being.
